Combining faith and science in old-time, and modern Phoenix


Like most of the people I've ever met, in a longish life, most it spent in Phoenix, Arizona, I'm someone who combines science with faith. That is, I brush and floss, and on my way to the dentist I pray that I won't have to get another root canal. I really can't imagine anyone being able to live without faith or science, but today that's what I'm thinking about, and I'm going to time-travel back to old-time Phoenix and ponder it.

It's 1884, and yes, there are already lots of churches in Phoenix, and even a Presbyterian one has been proposed. Of course, the hospital is already there. And I like the way that these two things work together. In 1884 there are so many mysterious things out there, like germs, and viruses, and sometimes even when the doctors do their best, things can go wrong. And even with the latest technology, like Listerine, infections can happen, and people can die.

Extremes in either direction, whether faith or science, can be worrisome to me. Nowadays if I simply threw away my toothbrush and had faith that I wouldn't get gingivitis, most people would consider me to be a kook (and I would be! And I also use a water pick!). But having faith that things will turn out has always been important to me - especially if you can't sleep, and the nights are long and dark.

I'm inclined to be skeptical of people who say that they don't have faith. And by that I don't mean sitting in a pew, or doing something like that, I mean faith in things that they don't understand. Speaking for myself, I have faith that the little pills that my doctor prescribes for me will control my cholesterol, and the vaccine that I'll be getting on the 18th of this month will keep me from getting COVID-19. There's no way in the world that I could ever get to a point of understanding that science - and if you showed me a virus under an electron microscope I'd have no idea what I was looking at.

The longer I live, and the more I look at history, the more I learn that nothing really changes. Yes, science has advanced, but faith is also strong, and important. Go in peace, and have faith.

Image at the top of this post: From a drawing in the book "History of Arizona Territory, Showing its Resources and Advantage; with Illustrations Descriptive of its Scenery, Residences, Farms, Mines Mills, Hotels, Business Houses, Schools, Churches, Etc. From Original Drawings". Wallace W. Elliott & Co., Publishers, 421 Montgomery Street, San Francisco, Cal, 1884.
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